Business leaders warn that companies cutting staff purely for efficiency may be missing the real future—and investors should watch for signs of genuine innovation alongside cost discipline.

What happened

Phil LeBrun (former international CIO of McDonald's) and Dr. Jana Werner (executive advisor at AWS), co-authors of *The Octopus Organization*, cautioned that enterprises racing to shrink headcount in the name of efficiency may be optimizing for a future that does not exist yet. They argued that investors should look beyond productivity language in shareholder letters and ask whether companies are also investing in true innovation and running experiments.

What to watch

Investors should look for evidence that a company is still learning and adapting—including flatter organizational structures, board members who understand emerging technologies, and willingness to discuss experiments that failed. The guests' core message: "You can't cut your way to success. You can reimagine your way to deliver outstanding customer value."